Sunday School Unions in the History of the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church and Pleasant Grove Baptist Association

 Articles of Faith Pleasant Grove Baptist Association

1. We believe in only one true and living God, and a trinity of persons in the godhead-Father, Son and the Holy Ghost--and there are not three gods but one God.

2. We believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the word of God and the only rule of faith and practice.

3. We believe in the fall of Adam and the imputation of his sin to his posterity in the corruption of the human nature and the impotency of man to recover himself by his own free will and ability.

4.We believe in the everlasting love of God to His people and the eternal election of a definite number of the human race to grace and glory, and there was a covenant of grace and redemption made between the Father and Son before the world began in which their salvation is secure and they in particular are redeemed.

5. We believe that sinners are justified in the sight of God only by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them.

6. We believe that all those chosen in Christ will be effectually called by the spirit and power of God so that they shall persevere in grace and not one of them be finally lost.

7. We believe that good works are fruits of faith and follow after justification and they justify us in the sight of men and angels and are evidences of our gracious state.

8. We believe there will be a resurrection of the dead and general judgement and that the happiness of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked will be eternal.

* These articles shall not be construed or interpreted to mean that this Association promotes, endorses or believes in the calvinistic doctrine of predestination. (The History of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, David Moon)

   The history of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church and her association is a very unusual one. I have never run across a history of a church and its association quite like this one. They are the most "primitive" of any Missionary Baptists I have encountered. First, they are independent churches not associated with the SBC or any other groups other than their association. They were at one time involved with the Georgia Baptist Convention, but severed ties in the early 1900's when the GBC sent letters to churches urging them to give to the Convention. According to their written history, the GBC was concerned that a very low percentage of churches were actually sending support and sent letters to churches urging them to give. This caused the Pleasant Hill Association to sever ties, as they felt the Convention was intruding into the sovereignty of the churches. To this day though, they still send monetary support to the Georgia Baptist Children's Home. They have 25 churches now, but at their height had 40. All the churches are still active, but some have gone into the SBC, and some were excluded for accepting premillenialism.

   The next curious thing about them, is that all their churches still practice footwashing and use fermented wine in communion. Their articles of faith do not specify such, as far as footwashing, as Primitive Baptist articles do, but according to those I've spoken with, they would frown on any church that stopped the practice. The use of outdoor baptistries is still prevalent among them.

   Evidently, there were some Missionary Baptists that in their early days somewhat agreed with the Primitive Baptists that Sunday Schools were not authorized by Scripture. However, they were not opposed to the concept of Sunday Schools, only opposed to it being part of the church. Their solution was participating in a Sunday School Union (SSU). The members of Pleasant Hill, along with members of other churches, formed a SSU that met on Sunday afternoons. It would be called the Centreville Union Sunday School Association, named after Centre Hill Baptist Church, the first church whose members formed the Union. Centre Hill Baptist is still very active and growing, but they are now an SBC church and no longer in the Pleasant Grove Baptist Association, and they now use the spelling "Center Hill".The SSU  met every Sunday, even tho worship services only occurred twice a month. Each church had a "school" which was a member of the SSU. Another unusual thing, is that this SSU involved not only those from other Baptist churches in their association, but Methodist churches, and a "Christian" church as well. It is highly unusual for Baptists to be involved with with a "Campbellite" church. It is even more unusual that a Campbellite church would cooperate with Methodists, who were mostly a "sprinkled bunch". The "Christian" churches have never been as extreme as those that go by the name "church of Christ"and they have always been instrumental, but still I have never heard of Baptists cooperating with them on any basis before now. Bethel Christian Church still is very active, and is literally half a mile from where I live. ALL this history at my doorstep and never knew it! It was also unusual for Baptists to be in a joint venture with Methodists in a disciplined study of Scripture, although they did frequently join with Methodists for campmeetings and revivals. However most of those meetings involved evangelical preaching as opposed to doctrinal preaching.

   The SSU was completely separate from the churches, with their own officers, treasurer and funding. Each year they would have a sort of graduation service with a program of singing, acknowledgements and speeches by teachers, students and the SSU superintendent. There were Bible drills, verses quoted from memory, and recitations of the books of the Bible. I cannot tell how the leaders were chosen. It could have been by vote, or could have been by alternating among the churches. In any case, there seemed to be no jealousy or arguing over the matter. 

   While a part of me is excited to see cooperation among the churches, that wasn't based on liberalism, another part of me questions how they overcame these obstacles. Were there rules in place that forbade certain subjects? Were doctrinal questions forbidden? Many things are left unanswered. I do know that at times such as campmeetings and revivals, if someone were converted, they could join either the Baptist or the Methodist church, and many times it was agreed between both churches, that baptism would be by immersion, and immediate since there was usually a lake or river close by, no cold weather since the campmeeting took place in late summer, and at that time many Methodist ministers offered converts a choice of mode.

   As for the history of the Pleasant Grove Baptist Association, I have to say, this one leaves me confused and with many questions. In previous articles I've written, I have stated that one must dig deep into the history of Baptist churches and associations to discern their true theological nature. Articles of Faith do not always give a clear indication of a groups beliefs, especially when it concerns Calvinism and Non Calvinism/Provisionism. As I have shown in previous posts, many Articles of Faith may sound calvinistic to one person, but not another. However, this is the FIRST time I have seen what seems to be unambiguous language, and to me sounds so completely calvinistic that there should be no question, especially when they state "a definite number" and "they in particular are redeemed". See their Articles included in this post. At this time though, they are Non Calvinist, believe in general atonement etc. Since the association was founded in the 1870's, this seems late in the game for a gradual change to occur, and there is evidence that they did not hold to Calvinism as early as 1910. So if they did drift away from Calvinism, they did so very quickly, and one might ask why they didn't simply change their Articles to reflect their new beliefs. Why in the past 112 years did they never change their Articles? Yet they are posted every year in the Association copy minutes, including this past year of 2022, that every member receives. They must have known that those articles were almost identical to other Baptists who were Calvinists, because of the footnote that always appears at the bottom, just as a similar footnote does in many of the Old Regular Baptist Articles. It can also be noted that not a single church left the Association during the first few decades, so there was no doctrinal division that can be noted. Noticeably absent in their Articles is any mention of communion and foot washing, which many other Baptists included in their Articles, but they still observe footwashing. Around this time, many Baptists did delete  parts of an Article that mentioned "proper administrator who has come under the imposition of a presbytery" when it comes to communion and baptism. Many baptists at this time began to question something that sounded like "Roman priestism" or that an unbroken line of laying on of hands in ordination was required by Scripture, or that a valid baptism depended on any person other than the one being baptized and their profession of faith. Perhaps they were trying to distance themselves from Campbellism. I simply do not know these answers. In any case, most Missionary Baptists now allow any male to baptize, if authorized by the church/pastor. The Pleasant Grove Association does follow a pastor as the administrator model, but they accept baptisms from other baptists without question. 

   In closing, let me say concerning this Sunday School Union, that sometimes there are things we question, but might be open to if good comes from it. This is one such example. Maybe you come from a tradition that believes instrumental music in the church is "wrong". But what is wrong with having a singing separate from the church that includes music? Maybe you come from a tradition that has no Sunday School in the church. But what is wrong with having a Bible school outside the church? Are we not to study and praise our God everyday? Is it ever inappropriate to study God's Word? To say that this can only be done "under the authority of the church when assembled in worship" is so close to Catholicism, it almost touches it. When Phoebe Knapp, a close friend of Fanny Crosby, composed a tune on the piano, and played it for Fanny, she asked "What does this tune say to you Fanny?" Fannie's reply was "Blessed assurance Jesus is mine!" Would the same God who inspired Fanny Crosby to write the lyrics "Blessed Assurance", whose lyrics were actually BORN from hearing a tune on an instrument, ever frown on any good work "done outside the church"?? Thank God He spoke to Fanny through that piano, as it is a song I have sung most everyday of my life as a prayer and praise to the Lord Jesus. Something to think about.  Ken Mann